Unit 4 Class Notes- The Progressives
The Origins of the Progressives
Around the turn of the century (~1900), middle-class reformers attempted to address many
of the problems that arose with the growing, modernizing society.




Journalists exposed the unsafe working conditions, corrupt business practices, and
political corruption
Intellectuals questioned to role of dominant corporations in American society
Reformers tried to make government more responsive to the needs of the people
The Progressive Movement- the reform efforts aimed at restoring economic
opportunities and correcting the injustices in American life.
Four Goals of the Progressives
Protecting Social Welfare- social reformers wanted to easy the harsh conditions of
industrialization and urban life




The Social Gospel movement and settlement house movement helped poor urban
dwellers cope with the harsh realities of industrial life at the turn of the century
The YMCA
o Opened libraries, sponsored classes, and built swimming pools
The Salvation Army
o Fed poor, cared for children in nurseries, helped instruct immigrants in middleclass values, hard work, and temperance
Florence Kelley- advocated improving lives of women and children
o Helped win passage of the Illinois Factory Act (1893) which prohibited child labor
and limited women’s working hours
Promoting Moral Improvement- Felt morality was the key to improving the lives of the poor,
and hoped to help people uplift themselves by improving their personal behavior

Worked toward the goal of Prohibition- the banning of alcoholic beverages
o Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) spearheaded the crusade for
prohibition
o Women like Carry Nation would urge saloonkeepers to shut their doors, and
even used her hatchet to destroy liquor and bars
o The Anti-Saloon League (1895)- sought to close saloons to cure society’s
problems. Often ran into problems with immigrant groups where drinking was
part of their culture
1
Creating Economic Reform- Following the Panic of 1893, some Americans questioned the
capitalist economic system.


Some workers and labor leaders embraced socialism
o Eugene V. Debs organized the American Socialist Party in 1901, criticizing
capitalism and the favorable treatment that big business often received from
government and politicians
***Muckrakers were journalists who wrote about the immorality and greed of U.S.
businesses and corruption in government. They hoped to expose socioeconomic
problems in need of political attention.
o Ida M. Tarbell described the ruthless business practices that helped John D.
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil eliminate competing in her essay “History of the
Standard Oil Company” in McClure’s Magazine
o Lincoln Steffens published exposes of business and government corruption in his
series of essays titled “The Shame of the Cities” and “The Struggle for SelfGovernment”
Fostering Efficiency- Many progressives looked to scientific principles to make society and the
workplace more efficient



Used sociology to defend limiting work hours for women by documenting the high costs
of long working hours for both the individual and society.
Scientific management- studies by Frederick Taylor focused on time and motion to
improve efficiency by breaking manufacturing task into simpler parts.
o “Taylorism” became a fad as industrial reformers used these scientific
management studies to see how quickly each task could be performed
The assembly line sped up production, but also caused high worker turnover, and led to
injuries suffered by tired workers
o Henry Ford reduced the work-day to 8 hours and paid his workers $5 a day,
twice the average wage
Cleaning Up Government
***Progressives hoped to change government. To make it more democratic and more
responsive to social issues.
Reforming Local Government- While solving the problems of industrialization in the nation’s
cities was one goal of the Progressives, they also sought to make government more efficient
and responsive to social issues
2



Commission System- Following the botched rebuilding effort by the Galveston, Texas
city council after a devastating hurricane in 1900, The Texas legislature appointed a fivemember commission of experts to take over. This prompted the city to adopt the
commission system as a form of government
o By 1917, 500 U.S. cities had adopted the commission system
Council-Manager System- Following an flood in 1917, Dayton, OH adopted the councilmanager form of government
o People elect a city council to make laws
o The council appointed qualified managers to run city departments
o By 1925, nearly 250 cities had adopted the council-manager system
Reform Mayors- Mayors instituted progressive reforms without changing how a city’s
government was organized
o Hazen Pengree of Detroit instituted a fairer tax system, lowered fares for public
transportation, rooted out corruption, and set up a system of work relief for the
unemployed
o Other reform mayors focused on taking over utilities from corrupt and greedy
private owners, converting the utilities into publically owned enterprises
Reform at the State Level- many states passed laws to regulate railroads, mines, mills,
telephone companies, and other large businesses


Progressive Governors, like Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin, worked to regulate big
business
La Follette served three terms as governor, and worked to drive business “out of
politics and then treat them exactly like the same as other people are treated.”
o Taxed railroad property the same as other business property
o Set up a commission to regulate rates, and forbade RRs to issue free passes to
state officials
Protecting Working Children- As child labor grew, progressives worked to end child labor


Florence Kelley and the Illinois Factory Act (1893)- Florence Kelley was an advocate for
improving the lives of women and children
o Helped to win passage of the Illinois Factory Act which banned child labor and
limited women’s working hours within the state
The National Child Labor Committee investigated the harsh conditions of child labor
o Showed dramatic photographs and statistics to the public
o Unions joined the NCLC claiming child labor lowered wages for all workers
3

The Keating Owen Act (1916)- prohibited the transportation across state lines of goods
produced with child labor
o The Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional, however…
o Nearly every state passed legislation banning child labor and setting maximum
hours for all workers
Fighting for workplace reform- After a setback in the Lochner v. New York case, Progressives
were successful in limiting work hours and securing benefits for workers hurt or killed on the
job




Lochner v. New York- New York’s law limiting bakers to a ten hour workday was struck
down by the U.S. Supreme Court, who ruled the NY law abridged a baker’s 5 th and 14th
Amendment rights by violating their liberty of contract and due process.
Muller v. Oregon (1908)- Louis D. Brandies argued that women required the state’s
protection against powerful employers.
o The Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s law limiting women to a ten-hour workday
Bunting v. Oregon (1917)- The Supreme Court upheld the Oregon law limiting the
workday to ten hours for men
1902- Maryland became the first state to pass laws requiring employers to pay benefits
in death cases
o other states followed Maryland’s lead and passed workers compensation laws
Reforming State Elections- Starting with Oregon, states began to reform state governments,
putting more power in the hands of citizens




Initiative- A bill originating from the people, which is put on the ballot after citizens
petition legislators
Referendum- When voters accept or reject an initiative
Recall- enables voters to remove elected officials by forcing them to face another
election before the end of their term.
o By 1920, 20 states had adopted at least one of these reform procedures
Primary system- 1899, Minnesota became the first state to enable voters, instead of
political machines, to choose candidates for political office through special elections
Direct Election of Senators- The success of the direct primary led to a Constitutional
amendment to make senators more responsive to the public.


Before 1913, senators were chosen by each state’s legislature, putting considerable
power in the hands of political machines and party bosses
Seventeenth Amendment- Ratified in 1913, the 17th Amendment made the direct
election of senators by the people of each state the law of the land
4
Roosevelt’s Square Deal of Progressive Reforms
Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal- Roosevelt saw the presidency as a “bully pulpit” to influence
and shape legislation that would curb business excess and see that the common American got
a “square deal”.
TR’s Square Deal- the various progressive reforms sponsored by the Roosevelt administration

***The purpose of the Square Deal was to promote policies beneficial to U.S. society as
a whole, not just certain sectors
TR the Trustbuster- While Roosevelt did not believe that all trusts/monopolies were harmful,
he sought to curb the actions of those that hurt the public interest.

TR ‘s administration filed 44 antitrust suits, winning many and breaking up some of the
harmful trusts
o ***He was guided by the idea that business monopolies were harmful to the
public good
o 1902- ordered the Justice Department to sue the Northern Securities Company,
which had a monopoly over northwestern railroads
o 1904- the Supreme Court dissolved the company
TR and the 1902 anthracite coal strike- 140,000 Pennsylvania coal miners striked, demanding a
20% raise, a nine-hour workday, and the right to organize a union. The mine operators refused
to negotiate.



After five months, the nation’s coal reserves ran low
Roosevelt called both side to the White House to negotiate an end to the strike
Furious with the mine operators unwillingness to bend, TR threatened to use federal
troops to take over the mines
o The opposing sides agreed to arbitration (a third party to mediate the dispute)
o 1903- the arbitration commission issued its compromise: the miners won a 10%
raise and a nine-hour work day, but they had to give up their demand for a union
and their right to strike for three years
o TR’s actions reflected the progressive belief that disputes could be settled in an
orderly way, and when a strike threatened the public welfare the federal gov.
was expected to intervene.
5
Railroad Regulation- Roosevelt pushed for federal regulation over businesses such as the
railroads. He urged Congress to pass laws to strengthen the Interstate Commerce Commission.


Elkins Act (1903)- made it illegal for railroad officials to give, and for shippers to receive,
rebates for using certain railroads.
o Also said RRs could not change set rates without notifying the public
Hepburn Act (1906)- strictly limited the distribution of free railroad passes.
o Gave the ICC power to set maximum railroad rates.
Regulating Food and Drugs- After reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, a book exposing the
shocking conditions of the meatpacking industry, Roosevelt pushed for passage of regulatory
laws to clean up the industry.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)- Dictated strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers
and created a program of federal meat inspections
Following a series of lectures by Dr. Harvey Washington, chief chemist at the Department of
Agriculture, regarding harmful preservatives to food and deadly ingredients in medicines, TR
pushed for regulation of the food and drug industry.

Pure Food and Drug Act- Halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines
o Called for truth in labeling so consumers would be given accurate information to
make wise decisions
Conservation and Natural Resources- In the late 19th century, Americans had exploited their
natural resource to extremes. Farmers leveled forests and plowed up the prairies. Ranchers
allowed cattle to overgraze the Great Plains. Lumber companies over-logged forests leading to
flooding, while failing to replant trees.
Conservation Measures- Roosevelt worked toward sensible conservation- that meant some
wilderness areas would be preserved, while others would be developed for the common good.





Set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves
Set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites
Set aside 80 million acres of land to explore for mineral and water resources
Established more than 50 wildlife sanctuaries and several national parks
Named Gifford Pinchot as head of the U.S. Forest Service.
6

o Pinchot was a professional conservationist. He advised Roosevelt to conserve
forest and grazing lands by keeping large tract of federal land exempt from
private sale
National Reclamation Act (Newlands Act) of 1902-Set aside money from the sale of
public lands in the West to fund large-scale irrigation projects
o Set the precedent of the federal gov. managing the water resources of the west
Troubles for Taft
Taft Becomes President- Although Taft was the hand picked successor of Teddy Roosevelt, he
found it hard to fill his predecessor’s shoes. Even worse, he had trouble managing the
factions in the Republican party, especially on the issues of tariffs, conservation, and
progressive reforms.

Taft was more successful in antitrust lawsuits than many of his progressive critics give
him credit for
o ***Ordered an antitrust lawsuit to be filed against U.S. Steel
o Successfully busted 90 trusts in his four years in office
The Payne-Aldrich Tariff- Taft campaigned to lower tariffs, but he found that getting competing
factions of Republicans in Congress to agree was harder than winning the presidency



Republicans in the House passed the Payne Bill, which lowered tariffs.
The Senate proposed an alternate bill, the Aldrich Bill, which raised many tariff rates.
The compromise bill, the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, retained high rates on imports…and
angered progressives
o Taft further angered progressives Republicans by defending the tariff as, “The
best tariff bill the Republican party ever passed.”
Conservation Policy and the Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy- Taft again angered conservatives
by appointing Richard Ballinger as Secretary of the Interior, who was against the conservationist
controls on western lands put in place under the Roosevelt administration.



Ballinger removed 1 million acres of protected forest and mining land, and returned
them for use by commercial businesses
Gifford Pinchot spoke out against Ballinger in Congress, accusing him of letting
commercial interests exploit natural resources that belonged to the public
Taft fired Pinchot, angering progressive conservationists, especially his former
president, Teddy Roosevelt
7
The Republican Party Splits- Taft could not hold together the two wings of the Republican
party, the progressives who wanted change and the “Old Guard” conservatives who favored
business interests over the publics’.
Problems Within the Party- It wasn’t just tariffs and conservation that caused fractures within
the Republican party. Taft’s cautious nature and his support for “Old Guard” conservatives irked
his party’s progressives.


Taft stubbornly supported House Speaker, and political party boss, Joseph Cannon
o Cannon disregarded seniority in filling committee slots
o As chairman of the House Rules Committee, Cannon often weakened or ignored
progressive bills
o Progressive Republicans, with help from Democrats, stripped Cannon of that
power by electing the Committee on Rules and excluding the Speaker from
membership in that committee
Voters, concerned about rising cost of living, which they blamed on the Payne-Aldrich
Tariff, and reservations over Taft’s lack of conservation, voted in Democrats to control
the House of Representatives in 1910. This was a brutal defeat for Taft.
The Progressive “Bull Moose” Party and the Election of 1912- Angered over Taft’s failure to
continue his progressive policies, former president Teddy Roosevelt chose to run for president
in 1912, hoping to gain the Republican party nomination.



Taft had the advantage as the incumbent, and his supporters finagled him to the
nomination in June of 1912. Progressive Republicans refused to vote in the nominating
process and formed a new third party, the Progressive Party
The Progressive Party nominated Roosevelt, and became known as the Bull Moose Party
after TR bragged that he was “as strong as a bull moose”. The party platform called for
the following:
o Direct election of senators
o All states to adopt the initiative, referendum, and recall procedures
o Women’s suffrage
o Worker’s compensation
o An eight-hour workday
o Minimum wage for women
o A federal ban on child labor
o A federal trade commission to regulate business
The Democrats nominated New Jersey reform governor, Woodrow Wilson, who
endorsed a progressive platform of reforms called the New Freedom
o Stronger antitrust legislation
8

o Banking system reform
o Reduced tariffs
With the Republican vote split between Taft and Roosevelt (TR received nearly a million
more votes than Taft), reform-minded voters swept Wilson and the Democrats into the
White House.
9
Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom”
Wilson’s “New Freedom”- Woodrow Wilson’s progressive program, the “New Freedom”,
aimed its reforms at what he called “a triple wall of privilege”: trusts, tariffs, and high
finance.
Two Key Antitrust Measures- During Wilson’s first term, Congress enacted two bills to
strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.


Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)
o Prohibited corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing so would
create a monopoly
o A company violating the law could have its officers prosecuted by the federal
gov.
o Specified that labor unions and farm organizations were no longer subject to
antitrust laws, protecting their right to strike, boycott, and peacefully picket
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
o A watchdog agency with the power to investigate businesses for possible
violations of regulatory statutes
o Requires periodic reports from corporations
o Meant to crust monopoly by rooting out unfair trade practices including:
unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, and bribery
A New Tax System- A second target of the “triple wall of privilege” was the nation’s high tariffs.
Wilson used the power of the “bully pulpit” to appeal to Congress and then, the people, to hold
their elected representatives accountable, urging Congress to resist pressure from business
lobbyists and lower the nation’s tariff duties. Congress responded by passing the bill Wilson
wanted.



Underwood Tariff
o Substantially reduced tariffs for the first time since before the Civil War
Sixteenth Amendment
o Ratified in 1913, the 16th Amendment allows for a federal income tax
Congress also enacted a graduated income tax, beginning with a modest tax on incomes
of over $3000
o By 1917, revenue from the income tax vastly exceeded that from tariffs.
10
A Stable Financial System- Following the Panic of 1907, the need for a stable financial system
to quickly adjust the amount of money in circulation and strengthen the ways in which banks
were managed was imperative.

Federal Reserve Act of 1913- divided the nation into 12 districts, each with a regional
central bank
o District banks served the needs of member banks within each district
o Federal reserve banks could issue new paper currency in times of emergency,
and transfer funds to member banks to keep them from closing
o Member banks could use the currency to make loans to their customers
o Although the regional banks were “bankers banks,” the final authority of the
Federal Reserve Board guaranteed a substantial measure of public control
Progressives Poor Record on Civil Rights
Progressives and Civil Rights- ***In short, racial equality received the LEAST attention from
Progressive policymakers.
Teddy Roosevelt and Civil Rights- Roosevelt failed to support civil rights for African Americans
as a whole, but he did support a few individual African Americans.



Invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House as a symbolic gesture
Appointed an African American as head of the Charleston, SC customhouse
Chose to close a Mississippi postal station after residents refused to accept the black
postmistress he had appointed
Woodrow Wilson and Civil Rights- During the 1912 election, Wilson won support of the NAACP
and white liberals by promising to treat blacks equally and to speak out against lynching, but as
president, Wilson appeased conservative Southern Democrat voters.



Placed segregationists in charge of federal agencies that had been integrated since
Reconstruction
Expanded segregation in the gov., military, and in D.C. as a whole
Opposed federal anti-lynching laws, claiming that it was a state issue
11
Women Win the Vote…FINALLY!!!
Women Continue to Fight for Suffrage- The end of the Civil War brought about renewed
demands for equal rights from the women of America. They would find that a united
movement would be nearly as elusive as the franchise they hoped to secure.
Constitutional Amendments and Tactics Split the Suffrage Movement


***Immediately following the Civil War, the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment
strongly influenced the women’s rights movement. Why?
o The Fifteenth Amendment did not protect women from having their right to vote
denied.
o ***Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women’s suffrage (the right to vote)
movement, worked with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to form the National Women
Suffrage Association (NWSA)
o NWSA combined with another group in 1890 to form NAWSA, the National
American Woman Suffrage Association
***The most significant split in the women’s suffrage movement was whether women
seeking the right to vote should concentrate on the national or state level
o The American Women Suffrage Association (AWSA) focused on the securing the
vote at the state level
o The NWSA and later NAWSA worked at the national level to secure a
Constitutional amendment protecting women’s right to vote
o ***The effort of suffragists to achieve reform at both the state and national level
reflects a strategy based on the constitutional principle of federalism (the
division of power between the states and national government
A Three-part Strategy for Suffrage
1. Convince state legislatures to grant women the right to vote.
o Wyoming territory granted women he right to vote in 1869, the first to do so.
o ***By the 1890s, women had been given the right to vote in state and local
elections in much of the western portion of the United States
2. Women filed court cases to test the Fourteenth Amendment, which declared that states
denying their male citizens the right to vote would lose governmental representatives
o 1871-72: Susan B. Anthony and others attempted to vote at least 150 times in
ten states and the District of Columbia
o 1875: The Supreme Court ruled that women were citizens BUT denied that
citizenship automatically conferred voting rights
3. Women pushed for a national constitutional amendment for the right to vote
12
o
A representative from California was the first to propose an amendment for
women’s suffrage in 1878. It was defeated in 1881.
o Women would lobby to have it reintroduced for the next three decades, only to
see it continually voted down.
Women Win Suffrage- As of 1910, women had federal voting rights only in Wyoming, Utah,
Colorado, Washington, and Idaho. Women struggled on and closed in on the franchise as a
result of three developments: the increased activism of local groups, the use of new
strategies to build strength for the movement, and the reemergence of a national movement
under Carrie Chapman Catt.
Local Suffrage Battles- Local suffrage groups drew strength from a growing membership of
college-educated women.


The Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government and the College Equal
Suffrage League went door to door to reach supporters
o Spread suffrage message to the poor and to working women
o Used trolley tours to draw crowds for their public speaking
College women studying abroad became involved in, and learned tactics from, British
suffragists
o Emmeline Pankhurst, a leader in the British suffrage movement, used bold
tactics such as heckling politicians, staging parades, enduring hunger strikes, and
spitting on police who tried to quiet their speech
Catt and the National Movement- Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the Women’s Suffrage
Party of New York and president of NAWSA, concentrated on a five-part plan to win the vote
for women.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Detailed organization
Close ties between local, state, and national workers
Establishing a wide base of support
Cautious lobbying
Gracious, ladylike behavior
Other suffragists looked to more radical tactics to gain the franchise.

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed their own more radical organization, the
Congressional Union, and its successor, the National Woman’s Party
o Pressured the federal gov. to pass a suffrage amendment
o Mounted a round-the-clock picket line outside the White House in 1917
13

Some picketers were arrested, jailed, and force-fed when they attempted
a hungers strike
These more radical tactics and America’s entry into WWI helped women cross the finish line in
their race to suffrage.


Patriotic women headed committees, knitted socks for soldiers, and sold liberty bonds
in the war effort
In 1919, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to
vote.
o The 19th Amendment was ratified in August, 1920, when Tennessee passed the
threshold-crossing vote.
14